Bachelor of Liberal Arts – Environmental Studies Concentration
Unique Offerings
The curriculum combines science, policy, social justice issues, psychology, spirituality, leadership, and outdoor skills with a deep appreciation and awareness of the natural world in order to prepare you for work in the environmental field.
You can take courses in each of the following six core subject areas:
- Environmental Science
- Bio-regional Studies and Nature Awareness Skills
- Global Environmental Justice Issues
- Eco-psychology and/or Eco-spirituality
- Environmental Leadership, Education and Advocacy
- Eco-art
General Requirements
The degree requirements for graduation are satisfied when you complete:
A total of 180 quarter credits (at least 45 credits taken at Antioch University), including:
- Up to 48 credits of prior learning
- At least 60 upper division credits
- Three required core courses:
- Liberal Studies Seminar; Diversity, Power & Privilege; Inquiry & Research
- An area of concentration (six required courses)
- Four quarters of study at Antioch University Seattle (or more)
- A portfolio of your work reflecting academic progress
- A Senior synthesis project and Symposium presentation
Length of Program
Most students graduate from the B.A. completion program in two years or less. Completion of 180 quarter credits is required for graduation.
Tuition & Fees
- Tuition: $560 per credit
- Required fees: $145 per quarter
- $6,865 tuition and required fees per quarter, full time (12 credits)
- $27,460 typical annual tuition and fees
- Credits documented for Life Experience: $140 per credit
Annual tuition and fees based on 2013-14 rates for four quarters. Antioch University Seattle students typically attend classes all year.
Career Opportunities
Opportunities may include jobs in government agencies (Forest or Park Service); environmental start-up companies; non-profits and/or environmental education/therapy programs.
Program Summary
Environmental studies will prepare you for work in green-related jobs. You will increase your understanding of environmental justice issues, explore techniques of place-based urban sustainability, and enhance your appreciation of the natural world.
The curriculum combines science, policy, social justice issues, psychology, spirituality, leadership, and outdoor skills with a deep appreciation and awareness of the natural world.
Your studies emphasize:
- Integrated learning from a variety of disciplines
- Social responsibility and ethical behavior
- Environmental and organizational sustainability
- Applying environmental principles to a variety of social and organizational disciplines
Work opportunities may include jobs in government agencies (Forest or Park Service), environmental start-up companies, non-profits and/or environmental education/therapy programs. If you are interested in graduate studies, Antioch University Seattle offers an accelerated course of studies leading to a master’s in education, psychology, management, communication, environment and community, organizational development, or whole systems design. Read more about the ladder option.
Core Coursework
As part of the Environmental Studies concentration, you take courses in each of the following six subject areas. Courses can be taken for 3-4 credits. You choose one course for each core area and the remaining courses or other learning experiences count as electives. Transfer credits can be used in both core and elective areas; prior learning credits are often used as electives.
Environmental Science
Courses meeting this requirement teach you current field and laboratory procedures in air, water, and land science. Examples might include determining dissolved oxygen (DO) and nitrate/phosphate levels in stream systems, or diameter breast height (DBH) of trees in a Northwest forest. You look for correlations in their data and submit findings in a scientific paper or class presentation. Sample coursework includes:
- Water Quality Assessment
- Field Based Environmental Analysis
- Cascade Geology/Hydrology
Bio-regional Studies and Nature Awareness Skills
Classes in this area will introduce you to naturalistic skills and content knowledge related to the study of the flora and fauna of our local geographic area, the Pacific Northwest. This place-based approach will serve as a foundation for the development of naturalistic skills and content knowledge transferable to virtually any geographic region. Examples includes:
- Flora and Fauna of the Pacific Northwest
- Bio-regional Studies: The Dynamic Duwamish
- Old-growth Forest Ecology
- Birds in the Imagination and the Field
- Nature Awareness Skills
Global Environmental Justice Issues
You become knowledgeable and aware of global environmental justice issues such as biodiversity, conservation, global warming, and sustainability. Examples of courses meeting this competency include:
- Global Environmental Problems
- Environmental Policy
- Environmental Justice Issues
- Global Warming
- History of the Environmental Movement
- Urban Sustainability
Eco-psychology and/or Eco-spirituality
You are introduced to ways of thinking about how nature relates to matters of psyche and spirit. The sacred dimension of nature is explored through dreams, ritual and indigenous ways of knowing while the psychological dimension is explored through the study of nature-based practices for psychological health. Courses include:
- Ecopsychology
- Wilderness Therapy
- Dreams and the Earth
- Ritual Process and Ceremonial Design
- The Spiritual Psychology of the Human Heart
Environmental Leadership, Education and Advocacy
One of the objectives of this concentration is to become an educator and/or advocate for the environment. You develop skills in experiential education and leadership including facilitating group dynamics, conflict resolution, and building community in the wilderness. In addition, you learn how to teach environmental principles in an outdoor setting and advocate for urban sustainability. Examples in this area include:
- Games for Leaders: Facilitation of Low Risk to High Element Activities
- Methods of the Environmental Educator
- Survey of Outdoor Education
- Expeditionary Leadership
Eco-art
These classes help you explore nature through the arts, such as photography, poetry, painting, etc. Courses are designed to develop the artistic imagination of the student while granting them an opportunity to reflect on their work in a natural setting. You will also gain a sense of the history and methods of eco-art criticism. Courses include:
- Nature Writing/Poetry
- Eco-literature
- Nature Photography
- Digital Storytelling
Sample Electives
You choose from a variety of electives that may include:
- The Nature of Wilderness First Aid
- Oceanography and Marine Science
- Environmental Justice and Racism
- Women in the Wilderness
- Alchemy and Science: Toward the Re-imagination of Nature
Community and Capstone Projects
All students do a project in the community during their time at Antioch University Seattle. The project supports your learning goals and your area of concentration. You may choose your own project or work with an organization that is already involved with AUS students. Your adviser will help you determine the best choice for your education and career goals. You finish your studies with a capstone project that brings various elements of you learning together.
Sample Community-based Field Experiences
- Develop a project to enhance the sustainability of Antioch University Seattle
- Volunteer with Seattle Parks service-learning projects, NYSD, or Earth Day
- Internship with Outward Bound schools in Mazama, WA (summer)
- Course work with Wilderness Awareness School
- Internship with Passages Northwest (women) or Center for Wooden Boats
- Lead an outdoor trip with Rite of Passage Journeys
Sample Capstone Projects
- Develop a business plan for a new environmental start-up
- Compare and contrast wilderness first aid programs (OEC, WFR, MOFA, etc.)
- Develop a project on local, sustainable agriculture in the Seattle area
- Give a multimedia presentation on the effects of climate change on the skiing industry in Washington State
- Design an advocacy project promoting outdoor recreation and experiential education for troubled youth in public high schools
- Undertake a wilderness vision quest and write a quest narrative
- Give a public presentation on global warming
- Use digital story-telling to establish an environmental presence on the web
- Compare and contrast different farming systems (agri-business, organic, bio-dynamic, and permaculture)
Aaron Dietz
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
Antioch has a good reputation, he says, for being able to educate self-learners and for keeping students involved in the learning process. He says he was able to create classes geared toward writing and publishing his own book, something he says would have been much harder to do at a state college.
Bob Hasegawa
B.A. Liberal Studies, 2003
Now Eleventh District Democratic Representative, he says his experience at Antioch surprised him by pushing him beyond his areas of concentration and stretching him in directions he'd never thought of going.
Carson Marshall
B.A. Liberal Studies, MA Whole Systems Design, 2001, 2003
He learned the program supports everyone's unique exploration. He said he realized he could create the way he wants to present himself to the world.
Cheryl Honey
BA Liberal Studies , 2004
It was serendipitous that she ended up going to Antioch. She says her advisers taught her she had special gifts to offer this world and she didn't have to ask for permission to make her unique contribution.
Chris Plyman
BA Liberal Studies, 2009
He happened to be walking along Sixth Avenue in Seattle's Belltown neighborhood when he came upon Antioch University. It looked like a place where he could do some exploring, so this retired Army warrant officer decided to give it a try.
Colleen Crotty
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
Antioch teaches you to look at things differently and to get involved in the community. She says she wouldn't trade her experience for anything.
Danielle Cameron
B.A. Liberal Studies, M.A. Psychology, Art Therapy with Mental Health Counseling, 2002
She says the more she learned about Antioch, the more she realized it was a school most likely to help her get where she wanted to go. She says it is the school for students who are independently motivated.
Debra Sund
BA Liberal Studies - Individualized Program: Holistic Early Childhood Education , 2008
She very much appreciates the freedom at Antioch and the smaller class size. She says it has a supportive and comfortable atmosphere for an adult learner
Dimitri Azadi
BA Liberal Studies - Individualized Program: Leadership and Diversity Studies, 2009
When many of his friends came to Antioch for their undergraduate studies, they told him it was a wonderful experience. He says he feels as though he is putting energy into his own well-being at Antioch.
Dollviola Eldred
B.A. Liberal Studies - Current student, M.A. Psychology - Mental Health Counseling, 2007
The only thing she needed to succeed was a good education and — thanks to Antioch — she has advanced in her career and predicts she will continue to climb.
Lance Wischler
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
He says the personal attention he experienced from his first phone call to the admissions department was a factor in coming to Antioch. The personal touch allowed him to feel like he mattered, and that he was not simply another number to be shuffled through the process.
Margie King Bloch
B.A. Liberal Studies, M.A. Whole Systems Design — Organization Systems Renewal, 1997
She chose Antioch because she wanted to learn more about the changing face of leadership, and she wanted to do it in an experiential educational setting
Maria Teresa Blankenship
BA Liberal Studies - Individualized Program: Psychology, Health Healing & Herbalism; MA Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, 2006
With a background in nursing and her interest in health healing, herbalism and psychology, she created a program for herself that she describes as an unforgettable journey.
Mary Sherhart
B.A. Liberal Studies, 1999
She says Antioch is an intense experience, a great place for self-motivated and well disciplined people with lots of meaty life experience under their belts.
Oliver Chadd
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
He was up for the unique method in which Antioch educates. He says he was always a quiet student and knew Antioch was set up in such a way he would be in situations where he could not just fade into the background.
Patricia Cavit
BA Liberal Studies, 2005
She says her independant study was an excellent experience. She was able to investigate exactly the areas she was interested in and receive mentoring from the advisers who were supervising.
Rachel Beals
BA Liberal Studies, Spiritual Studies concentration, 2009
Antioch's Spiritual Studies concentration, she says, is a one-of-a-kind undergraduate program. Her priority? She wants to reduce the isolation and despair so many people face today.
Richard Long
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
He chose Antioch because of its commitment to adult education and its social ideology. He says if the concept that a student, through study, research and relationships, obtains the basic philosophies of the institution they attend, then he is a better student, friend and person.
Stephanie McDonald
BA Liberal Studies - Individualized Program: Depth Psychology; MA Psychology, Mental Health Counseling, 2007 & 2011
Antioch is a transformational place where you can find your voice, build confidence and thrive, according to Stephanie McDonald. After completing her BA, her desire to continue learning was on fire and she entered Antioch University Seattle's graduate program in mental health counseling.
Tina Grant
BA Liberal Studies, 2007
Antioch is a place where you can find what it is you want to do with the rest of your life. She says it is not that the teachers will tell you, but that they create a space for you to explore, experiment and find what it is that fills you with passion.
Young-wha Coulter
B.A. Liberal Studies, 2007
Getting credit for life experience was validating for Coulter, who had been a para-educator working with elementary special education children in the Highline School District.
